Storylines abound for Red Sox-Dodgers series

Thursday

Aug 22, 2013 at 10:10 AM

SAN FRANCISCO -- Given the logistics of ironing out a 162-game schedule for 30 different teams, not to mention the scheduled division-against-division rotation, there's little chance those charged with constructing the 2013 schedule had an ulterior m

Brian MacPherson Journal Sports Writer brianmacp

SAN FRANCISCO -- Given the logistics of ironing out a 162-game schedule for 30 different teams, not to mention the scheduled division-against-division rotation, there's little chance those charged with constructing the 2013 schedule had an ulterior motive in mind when they arranged to send the Red Sox to Dodger Stadium in late August.

It's just a fortuitous coincidence -- and, as such, an interleague series right out of Bud Selig's dreams.

The first-place Red Sox. The first-place Dodgers. Carl Crawford. Adrian Gonzalez. The one-year anniversary of a trade involving players with 11 combined All-Star Game appearances and more than $260 million in contracts. Yasiel Puig -- and now Xander Bogaerts. Even John Henry reportedly will be in attendance -- and we already know Magic Johnson will be.

For all the less-than-memorable matchups that 17 seasons of interleague play have yielded, this weekend's Red Sox-Dodgers tilt couldn't be much more perfect.

Consider the storylines involved:

* This weekend will mark the first time the Red Sox will have seen Crawford and Gonzalez, as well as old friend Josh Beckett (on the disabled list) and Nick Punto (whose jersey Danny DeVito wore to a recent game), since the jaw-dropping trade Ben Cherington and Ned Colletti pulled off last Aug. 25.

An aggressive -- and defensible -- strategy of going all-in on Crawford and Gonzalez, both young stars in their prime, didn't work for the Red Sox at all. A collapse in 2011 was followed by foundering mediocrity in 2012 in large part because a top-heavy payroll didn't have the depth it needed to cope with the loss of players to injury.

And so, with impressive stealth Cherington, negotiated a deal that would send Beckett, Crawford, Gonzalez and Punto to the Dodgers and their newly bottomless pockets in exchange for two elite pitching prospects (Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster) and, more importantly, $260 million in salary relief.

* Puig rocketed to stardom when he hit over .400 with a slugging percentage over .650 in his first month in the major leagues. He since has seen his numbers stabilize -- somewhat, anyway; his slugging percentage still is over .550 for the season -- but he also has become something of a lightning rod for those who believe rookies should be seen and not heard and play the game with sound fundamentals.

Puig was fined for showing up late to Marlins Park earlier this week, the capper on a stretch in which he'd generated controversy over his inability to avoid running into outs on the basepaths and then threw an expletive toward Miami media assembled specifically to cover baseball's latest Cuban prodigy.

* Bogaerts hasn't had the same immediate impact on the Red Sox since his call-up that Puig had on the Dodgers in June. But with his easy power and disciplined plate approach -- not to mention that he plays a premium defensive position -- Bogaerts might well be the better player before too long.

Those waiting to see the first highlight-reel swing from Bogaerts will be watching this weekend's series intently.

* Perhaps most important, as much as any other interleague series, this Dodgers-Red Sox collision represents a World Series preview.

After going 42-8 during an absurd stretch of 50 games, Los Angeles has left its National League West competition in the dust and is within striking distance of the Atlanta Braves for the best record in the National League. Prohibitive Cy Young Award favorite Clayton Kershaw could do for the Dodgers what Beckett did for the 2007 Red Sox -- win a playoff series or two almost by himself.

(In a break for the Red Sox, neither Kershaw nor Zack Greinke will pitch this weekend.)

As much consternation as there is in Boston about the Red Sox -- the bullpen, the middle of the lineup and the health of Clay Buchholz among the pressing issues -- this still is a team that has won more games than any other team in the American League, if not with the best winning percentage.

Maybe Detroit or Texas will oust Boston from the American League playoffs. Maybe Atlanta or Pittsburgh will trip up Los Angeles. But maybe the excitement of these next three games at Chavez Ravine only is an appetizer for what's still to come in October.